Clinton approves one big spending bill, vetoes another

President Clinton Monday reluctantly signed the fiscal 2000 Defense appropriations bill, but vetoed the Commerce-Justice State spending measure and threatened to veto several more appropriations bills.

Nevertheless, Clinton brushed aside the prospect of a government shutdown, promising to sign another continuing resolution after the current one runs out Friday.

Although Clinton does not "agree with everything in" the Defense bill, he thought the increase in spending was needed and that it was "very important" to "meet our commitments" to U.S. service members, White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart said.

In vetoing the Commerce-Justice-State bill, Clinton complained the measure failed to provide funds for the Justice Department to sue the tobacco industry, did not include the language he wants on hate crimes, and did not provide money due the United Nations.

"The appropriations bill for the Interior Department is not better," he said, adding that if the Interior bill does not change, "I will have to veto that, too."

President Clinton indicated that the the GOP plan to enact across-the-board spending cuts is a nonstarter at the White House as well.

"I will not allow Congress to raise its own pay and fund its own pork-barrel projects, and still make devastating across-the- board cuts in everything from education to child nutrition to the FBI," Clinton said. The Pentagon, he added, would "have no choice" but to lay off 70,000 people.

Lockhart criticized what he said were "record" numbers of earmarked spending programs attached to appropriations bills. The effect on the Defense spending bill, he argued, would be that projects of parochial concern to members would be preserved while personnel would be cut.

Lockhart said a further meeting between Clinton and top Republicans would be "useful," and that Clinton "would be glad to bring the members down."

House Democratic leaders Monday began backing off their tough talk last week on the Defense bill, when House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., promised a presidential veto and guaranteed they could sustain it.

But Monday, a Democratic leadership aide said while Gephardt was confident he could hold his caucus together to block a Defense bill veto override, the more important question was whether Democrats could successfully communicate their message with a veto.

The aide said vetoing the Defense bill, which includes a spending increase over last year as well as a 4.8 percent military pay raise, may generate too much "hoopla" for Democrats to focus public attention on the lack of funding for their priorities elsewhere in the budget.

Senate Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, issued a statement Monday criticizing Gephardt for crafting a "secret plan" to shut down the federal government.